A case study of the effects of attitude, behaviour, and project team culture on building information model use in a temporary project organisation

Maximal benefit from Information and Communication Technology (ICT) investments can best be achieved in the construction industry where they are used collaboratively, in a project setting, using business processes that span the boundaries of individual firms. This has its ultimate expression in the Building Information Model (BIM) when it is utilised from the earliest stages of project feasibility, through the design and construction into the operational phase, yet this rarely eventuates. This state of affairs has as much to do with sociological and psychological influences as it has with technology issues. Recently completed PhD research found evidence that diverse influences on the formation of individual attitudes result in boundedly rational decision-making behaviour, which has a significant effect on the likelihood of ICT integration. Parallel doctoral research linked the effect of individual attitudes to the formation of project team culture and subsequent receptiveness to ICT integration. This research used both approaches to analyse a Temporary Project Organisation (TPO) revealing links between the individual attitude formation of key project personalities and their subsequent ICT decision-making behaviour. It found these behaviours collectively resulted in the formation of a differentiated project team culture, sub-optimal ICT usage, and minimal utilisation of BIM capabilities. This was attributed to both a lack of client demand for a functional model, and the absence of championing by the architect of the leading edge BIM access that they had provided to the rest of the TPO.